"War. Unending internal war," said Dawn.com editor Jahanzaib Haque when I asked him where he saw Pakistani media heading in the foreseeable future. "No one likes to work in an environment where their colleagues are gunned down and there is a state of constant threat."

This unending war became uncomfortably real for Haque in January when, in the third of a series of attacks, three of his Express News colleagues (where Haque was then web editor) were killed in their office van.

Shortly after, the Pakistani Taliban, the Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) called into an Express live show to claim responsibility.

A long march of around 20 families for the safe recovery of their loved ones started on October 27 from Balochistan, Pakistan and finally culminated in Karachi, Pakistan after distancing 750 km on foot without inspiring any change in the status quo.

The families, comprising children, women and men, travelled on mountainous and plain areas of Southwestern Balochistan on foot and ended their journey after 27 days on Friday November 22 at Karachi Press Club, the provincial capital of Sindh.

Don't

United Nations, New York, 12 July 2013 - Education activist Malala Yousafzai marks her 16th birthday, on Friday, 12 July 2013 at the United Nations by giving her first high-level public appearance and statement on the importance of education.

Malala became a public figure when she was shot by the Taliban while travelling to school last year in Pakistan -- targeted because of her committed campaigning for the right of all girls to an education. Flown to the United Kingdom to recover, she is now back at school and continues to advocate for every child's right to education.

I've seen their silent facesThey scream so loudIf they were to speak these wordsThey’d go missing tooAnother woman on the torture tableWhat else can they do ?One day we’ll dance on their gravesOne day we’ll sing our freedomOne day we’ll laugh in our joyAnd we’ll dance (twice)Hey Mr. Pinochet, you’ve sown a bitter cropIt’s foreign money that supports youOne day the money is going to stopNo wages for your torturersNo budget for your gunsCan you think of your own motherDancin’ with her invisible son?

Don't

Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire

by Deepa Kumar

(Haymarket Books ,

2012;

$17.00)

In 2009, several U.S. citizens or legal residents were arrested for alleged connections to "terrorist" activity. In the latter part of the year these became high-profile cases that drew sustained media attention. Following hard upon this media frenzy, in December 2009 the Obama administration announced plans to escalate the war in Afghanistan by sending in more troops and by stepping up drone attacks on Pakistan, in what came to be known as the "Af-Pak strategy." Almost a full year into his presidency, the "peace" president had failed to fulfill his campaign promises to shut down Guantanamo Bay and undo the violations of civil liberties unleashed by Bush. The "homegrown terrorist" threat being whipped up by the media served well to continue the status quo.

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Dr. Deepa Kumar, author of Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, is to speak in Vancouver in March on how Islamophobia in America is rooted in centuries of conquest and colonialism, from the Crusades to the War on Terror.

Whoever or whatever is responsible for the human condition is delivering the usual abundant lumps of coal to the world this year. Humanity is yet again awash in injustice and oppression, much of which, as always, we are helpless to end or can't be bothered trying.